Animated short film showcases breakthrough hybrid animation pipeline
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Asteria Film Co., the next-gen film and animation studio, in collaboration with Everyday Mischief and Thai animation studio The Monk Studios, today announced ChikaBOOM!, a new animated short film written and directed by visionary filmmaker c. Craig Patterson (Fathead). The project features an all-star voice cast including Yara Shahidi, Natasha Lyonne, Daveed Diggs, Roy Wood Jr., and Tika Sumpter.
The 10-minute short follows Chika Batstone (Shahidi), an aspiring young magician whose curiosity accidentally unleashes Kaboom (Lyonne), a chaotic magical creature, into the heart of New York City. With her world-famous magician father, The Amazin’ Arnie (Diggs), performing nearby, Chika must contain the mayhem before it’s too late.
ChikaBOOM! marks a significant leap forward in animation production, utilizing Asteria and Moonvalley’s proprietary generative technology to reimagine traditional animation.
“From the outset, we knew telling this story would mean exploring new technology and developing new approaches—but that’s not why you make a film,” said director c. Craig Patterson. “What brought so many incredible artists and filmmakers together was the chance to give audiences 10 minutes of joy through the lens of an awesome little animated girl named Chika. She’s what brought this team together—and the reason we poured so much love into every frame.”
The project brings together Academy Award® winners Hannah Beachler (Black Panther) as Production Designer and Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) as Costume Designer.
“We have a rare opportunity to shape how this technology is used—and it must remain in the hands of artists and animators,” added Benjamin Michel, Head of Creative R&D for Asteria. “By blending hand-drawn 2D, CG animation, and generative workflows, we’ve built a hybrid pipeline to extend our animators’ capabilities. It’s driving monumental breakthroughs and helping us create something audiences have never experienced before.”
The Gotham Group packaged the project alongside c. Craig Patterson, Erik Weaver and Kacie Lehner. Producers on the project include c. Craig Patterson, Kacie Lehner, Alyssa Katalyna, Benjamin Michel, and Ben Lock. Executive Producers are Erik Weaver, Tom Thudiyanplackal, Miles Perkins, Natasha Lyonne, Roy Wood Jr., Yara Shahidi, Daveed Diggs, Ryan Stafford, Bryn Mooser, Matthew Cherchio, Justin Lacob, Eric Day, Nick Confalone, and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Matt Shichtman and Ross Siegel. Marisa X. Castro is Co-Producer.
The short is currently in production and will debut this Fall.
Production Still: Courtesy of Asteria Film Co and Everyday Mischief
Reps:
c. Craig Patterson: The Gotham Group, law firm McKuin Frankel Whitehead, LLP
Yara Shahidi: CAA, Linden Entertainment, 2PM Sharp, The Nord Group
Natasha Lyonne: CAA, Untitled Entertainment, law firm Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham
Daveed Diggs: CAA, Brookside Artist Management, law firm Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP
About c. Craig Patterson
Hailing from New Orleans’ 7th Ward, c. Craig studied at Columbia University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His scripts and films have received accolades from Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Webby Awards, The Academy’s Nicholl’s Fellowship, AmPav at Cannes Film Festival, and the Hillman Grad Rising Voices Initiative. In addition to Cannes, his shorts have also screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and Austin Film Festival. c. Craig has produced projects for Carnegie Hall, directed the critically acclaimed comedy specials for Roy Wood Jr. for Paramount+ and Hulu and currently has projects in development with Bad Robot, Paramount, Epic Games, and Asteria Film Co.
About Asteria Film Co.
Asteria is a pioneering entertainment company at the intersection of technology and storytelling, dedicated to creating groundbreaking narratives across film, television, and immersive experiences.
About The Gotham Group
The Gotham Group is a global entertainment company based in Los Angeles producing film and television projects that span genres and platforms. Deliver Me From Nowhere, the highly anticipated feature film written and directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) chronicling the making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ album, will premiere at the prestigious New York Film Festival this Fall before its October release from 20th Century Studios. Other credits include the multi-Emmy®-nominated hit series Percy Jackson and the Olympians; the Apple TV+ and Skydance Animation series The Search for WondLa; the limited series Washington Black on Hulu; the billion-dollar Maze Runner film franchise, and the Stargirl franchise for Disney+, based on Jerry Spinelli’s beloved YA novels. The Gotham Group shepherded the script for Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2, packaged dystopian thriller By All at Warners with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II set to star and Steve Caple Jr. on board to direct, and developed The Last Days of John Allen Chau, written by Ben Ripley, which The Gotham Group will produce with Justin Lin directing and producing through his Perfect Storm Entertainment. The Gotham Group developed and produced the Netflix feature film Wendell & Wild from Jordan Peele and Henry Selick and produced both the film adaptation of Tony DiTerlizzi’s award-winning family adventure The Spiderwick Chronicles and the Emmy®-nominated Creature Comforts, with partner Aardman Animations.
About The Monk Studios
The Monk Studios is a Bangkok-based animation and visual effects studio known for high-quality CGI in films, blending Eastern artistry with global standards.
Contacts
Press Contact:
Maggie Begley/MBC
[email protected]; 310.749.3055
